Unexpected
by DarkCrow17
Summary: After Michael and Sara's daughter, Mckayla is diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, she finds herself falling for last person in the world she ever expected to; or probably should've. Sara/Michael Linc/? OC/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, everyone! Darkravena96 here, and this is my first Prison Break fic on Fanfiction! I wrote another on a different site, but it was so bad, that I don't want to post it anywhere else! And, no, I'm not going to tell you where you can find it, lol.**

 **Now, just a way of a head's up, I haven't gotten to season 5 yet. I'm almost done with season 2, but I don't know how the series plays out except that Michael "dies" at the end but turns out he didn't. so, forgive me for making a few mistakes that aren't in line with the series.**

 **I kind of like to envision that they settled some place in South America when all was said and done, but I haven't finished the series, so please don't tell me. Sara works as a doctor in her own private clinic and Michael works under the radar for a smalltime company that builds hotels. And Lincoln works as a mechanic doing some other odd jobs. I know there's a new girl named Sheba in this series, but I'm afraid of misrepresenting her since I haven't gotten that far, so I'm not sure, who Linc's going to be with in my story, so I want to take a vote on who everyone want between the three love interests of Lincoln Burrows. A resurrected Veronica Donovan, Sofia, or (this might not be the best suggestion) Sheba. Please PM me your opinion and I'll decide from there!**

 **And just as one more note, Michael Jr. Is not mentioned or shown in this chapter, but he is in the story. He's in college and will probably be brought into the next chapter.**

 **All right; enough chit-chat; now let's get to the story!**

* * *

Mckayla Scofield buried her head into her bedroom pillow in frustration. It wasn't supposed to be like this; this was the last thing she had ever expected to happen to her.

It wasn't the fact that she had fallen in love; she had fully expected to someday, especially after the good example her parents had set for her over the years concerning love, so that wasn't the issue.

It was whom she had fallen in love with.

Kaden was tall, handsome, athletic, and understood her like no one else did.

When she had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia two years prior, Mckayla had lost a good amount of friends. Not because of the initial diagnosis, but what followed that diagnosis. The chronic pain had begun to drain her energy and none of the meds she was taking seemed to be working, so she had to take a lot of sick days at school, and as a result, wasn't hanging out with her friends as much as before. They either drifted from her, or ended the friendship all together because she suddenly didn't "have enough time" for them like she once did. Mckayla had tried to tell them that she was trying, but just didn't feel well anymore.

But Kaden had stood by her. After all, they had grown up together. He knew the Mckayla Scofield she was before she had developed fibro, and that Mckayla was invested in her relationships whether it be with her friends, family and boyfriend. That Mckayla Scofield had pulled down so many A pluses, that the teachers didn't know what to do with her. So when she started to tank, he knew that something was off, because Mckayla Scofield wasn't given 1000% into her schoolwork and relationships. He visited her more than usual after schools on the days she couldn't make it, and on the days she could, he sat next to her in every class they shared while her boyfriend quickly seemed to be withdrawing from her. Mckayla tried to interact with Jake as much as possible, but she couldn't help but notice that she held most of the conversations.

"I'm not dying, Jake." She finally said to him out of frustration. They were outside in the football field end zone and pretty much had the place to themselves, save the few students scattered across the field and bleachers studying.

Jake had leaned against the goal point and looked at her evenly with his golden brown eyes.

"I hardly see you anymore."

"You can come by anytime; I don't mind."

"When was the last time we had a date? 2 months ago?"

"I've said over and over we can do movie and game night at my house."

"It's not the same."

"Why? We'd still be spending time together."

Jake shrugged.

"I just feel like we're drifting apart."

"No; _you're_ drifting apart from _me_. I'm doing everything I can to keep this relationship going; you're not doing a thing."

"So I guess it's not much of a relationship?" Jake sounded almost hopeful as disbelief set in Mckayla.

"Are you saying you want to break up with me?"

Jake shrugged.

"That's not an answer."

"Okay; yes, I do; you happy?"

Mckayla had to swallow the lump in her throat before continuing.

"Why?" She knew it was a rhetorical question, but she just needed to hear him answer it anyway.

"Why? This…thing you've got; it's lifelong, right?"

She felt a stone sink into her chest.

"Probably." She nodded.

"So…that means that I've got to play doctor with you for the rest of our lives." He held up his hands. "You're gorgeous, Scofield. But I can find someone just as good-looking as you plus health."

Tears sprang into her eyes. He wasn't even trying to be nice about it!

"Come on, don't be like that," Jake shifted uncomfortably, "You know it's true."

"So, that's it then?" She was too drained to fight back.

"Yeah; pretty much." He picked up his backpack and walked away.

Mckayla didn't say anything because she knew the moment she opened her mouth, she would start to cry. She watched him leave and fought back the tears as she struggled to pick up her backpack, frustrated because she could carry it easily just that morning.

"What did he say to you?"

Mckayla looked up and saw Kaden staring down at her with his "Pitbull Kade" look. The one he always got when he became fiercely protective over those whom he loved.

Mckayla shook her head.

"Not now." With strain, she picked up her backpack.

"Here, let me." Kaden reached for her backpack.

"No; I've got it." Mckayla hoisted it up onto her back and was rewarded with shooting pain in her shoulder blades. She didn't moan, but a tiny whine escaped before she could stop it.

"You sure?" Kadin asked evenly.

Mckayla knew she probably looked pathetic sniffling with a backpack she could barely carry hanging from her shoulders.

"I," she sniffed, "am carrying this backpack on my own." She corrected her hunched position and took a deep breath. "Let's go."

They sat together on the bus and Kaden snatched up her backpack the moment she set it down.

"If you're going to be in this much pain, it won't be because of a simple backpack," was his reasoning. Mckayla was too tired to argue and contented herself with looking out of the window wondering if her whole life was going to be made up of moments like these when she couldn't do basic things to get through the day.

Since they lived next door, they got off at the same time and Kaden handed her her backpack before giving her a hug.

"Call me when you're ready to tell me what happened." He said before heading for his house.

Kaden was usually a gruff, brooding guy and didn't show his sweet side often, but Mckayla was one of the chosen few who got to see it all the time from him.

She managed to get into her room before her mom got back from the clinic and her dad got back from laying out the blueprints for the construction workers at the hotel site. She laid on her bed and pulled out her phone. She loved Kaden, but this was more of a girl problem, and right now, she needed to talk to the only girlfriend who hadn't left her sided throughout this whole "fibro ordeal".

Clarissa Sucre had had a checkup and had to leave school early, so she wasn't around when Jake had broken up with her.

Mckayla began to text her.

 _ **How'd the checkup go?**_

She waited a few minutes and then her phone vibrated.

 _ **Okay; same old. How r u doing?**_

 _ **Not so great; Jake dumped me today after school.**_

Mckayla only had to wait 5 seconds before her phone began to blow up.

 _ **WUT. THE. HECK?! He's an IDIOT! COMPLETELY LOCO!**_

Mckayla imagined her friend on the other end rambling in Spanish to one in particular unless her mom happened to be in the same room. She waited a few minutes before she texted her the entire conversation that she had Jake had had before he called it quits.

Her response came from the friend with righteous indignation.

 _ **Well, then! He didn't deserve u in the first place! He can go die in a hole for all I care! I hope he finds a girl who is so whiney, and so demanding so he'll be wishing he'd kept u around!**_

Clarissa sent her the gif of Hades exploding into enraged flames and several devil emojis.

She meant well, but it still stung to hear someone talk about Jake like that. After all, she still had feelings for him. Mckayla's phone lit up again.

 _ **Do u want me to buy u ur favorite latte and come over?**_

As much as she loved Clarissa, she could be exhausting to be around because of the amount of energy she exhibited, and how fast she talked.

 _ **No; that's okay. I just needed someone to vent to.**_

Clarissa's response was quick.

 _ **Alright; vent on me all you want.**_

They talked for a few minutes longer before Mckayla ended the conversation saying that she needed to rest which was true; she was physically and emotionally drained from the day. The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was her father removing her shoes and her mother tucking her in and kissing her goodnight.

* * *

The next day, Mckayla woke up knowing she was going to call in sick. She could barely out of bed before her body screamed at her to crawl back under the covers. After her mom had called the school, she ordered her to go back to bed and sleep for as long as she needed. Mckayla couldn't say no even if she wanted to. Around 11 AM, she forced herself to sit up and check social media. Baby steps to get her day started was necessary these days.

The doorbell echoed throughout the house and she heard her mother answer the door in a surprised tone. Kaden's deep voice traveled up the stairs. Mckayla looked up from her phone.

What was Kaden doing out of school so early? Heavy footsteps climbed the steps and Mckayla laid the phone down on the bed.

Kaden walked into her room with a paper bag in one hand and a hot water neck wrap in the other.

She gasped.

"Kaden, what happened to you?"

Kaden's right eye was bruised black and a small white bandage was taped over his eyebrow.

"I got suspended."

"Suspended? What for?" Mckayla scrambled out of bed and was greeted with shards of pain shooting up her leg, which she chose to ignore as she ran in front of Kaden. She stood up on tip-toes to check his wound.

"Got into a fight."

"With wh-" she stopped, "It wasn't with Jake, was it?"

"He had it coming."

"And you got kicked out for a day!"

"Three, actually. And I regret _nothing_." He handed her the bag. "Your mom said you haven't had anything to eat today, so here; have a burrito."

Who did Kaden Jay think he was, thinking he could give her her favorite lunch item right after she beat up her ex and have her anger lessen on the spot?

Well, it was working.

"He had no right to say those things to you."

Until that moment.

"Wait, how do you know what he said? I never-" she stopped midsentence. "Clarissa told you, didn't she?"

"Maybe…"

Mckayla groaned.

"Kayla, she was mad and every right to be so! You're not replaceable!"

"How bad did you him up?"

Kaden chuckled seeming to enjoy the memory.

"How. Bad?"

"A sprained wrist and a tweaked back and neck; he also looks like a raccoon."

"Kaden…" she sat down on her bed.

"I'm not going to apologize." He crossed his arms stubbornly.

"But it bothers _me._ "

"Well…that I'm sorry about. But not for anything else." He sat down next to her and placed the hot water neck wrap around her shoulders. "How are you holding up?"

Mckayla didn't want to admit it, but the wrap felt good around her aching shoulders. The backpack really had done her in.

"Okay. I keep telling myself it wouldn't have worked out anyway, but it's not helping."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad it didn't." Kaden rubbed her back, "It's situations like these that reveal what a person's really made of. He didn't deserve you."

Mckayla shrugged and began to unwrap her burrito.

"You might regret what you did after you see all the makeup work you have to do because you were suspended."

"Yeah, about that…could you help me with my algebra?"

"You're on your own this time, buddy." Mckayla cracked a smile.

"Dang it; I knew you would say that."

She managed to laugh despite her situation.

She hadn't liked him in a romantic sort of way back then. After all, she had just broken up with Jake. But it wasn't long after that when the way she viewed him began to change.

It started out with little things, such as he was always there for her and never minded when she had to cancel plans at last minute because she needed to rest. And he was always there at the drop of a hat when she was up for doing something. And when she had been pulled out of public school so she could do an online education at her own pace, Kaden visited her every day, and offered to help her with her homework. He was crazy good with history like she was with math so it was a fair exchange.

As time went on, she couldn't help but notice how handsome he was growing up to be. He was gaining more muscle and was hitting the gym more often. She didn't want to notice him in this way, but she couldn't help it. She liked looking at him.

She kept telling herself that she didn't see him anything more than just a friend; she couldn't afford to. But after senior prom, she couldn't deny it even to herself anymore.

She wasn't in public school, but Kaden still was and he wanted to take her to prom with him so she could go and have a prom experience. Mckayla was more excited about going with Kaden than she should have been, but at that moment, she didn't care. She, her mother, Clarissa and her mother went shopping and found the perfect blue dress that brought out her eyes, while Clarissa settled on a purple one that went nicely with her natural tan.

Kaden rented a tux and made after party plans with the guys.

Then the big day happened…and Mckayla felt horrible. The pain was attacking her and taking her energy down with it resulting in her feeling sick.

Her dad had tried to be positive.

"Maybe you'll feel better tonight, kiddo." He had given her a little hug and a gave her a kiss on her head.

She didn't. in fact, she was still in her pjs at 4:00.

She felt so bad to stand Kaden up at last minute and tried not to cry as she told him how sick she felt over the phone.

"Hey, don't worry about it," his voice was soothing, "Just get some rest; you need it."

She had no choice but to listen to him; it didn't make her feel any better.

Around 7:00, Mckayla had woken up trying not to feel sorry for herself. She had been in bed since 4:15 with strict bedrest orders from Dr. Scofield herself, but was feeling a little better. Too bad it was too late to go to prom.

A knock came at the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, sweetheart."

"Come in."

Sara Scofield came in closing the door behind her.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I could go downstairs."

"Good," a smile lit up her mother's entire face, "Do you think you could put your prom dress on?"

"Why?" Mckayla sat up confused.

Sara's brown eyes had sparkled.

"Put it on and you'll see."

Mckayla put her dress on and called her mother in to help with the zipper.

"Hang on just a minute," Sara grabbed a brush from her nightstand and began to brush her long black locks.

"Mom, what's going on?"

"Hold on…" Her mother set the brush down and took her hand, "Come on."

Mckayla followed her down the stairs and stopped when they came to the living room.

Balloons hugged the walls and streamers hung from the ceiling. Mexican take out was on the coffee table and a bouquet of roses was right behind the take out boxes.

Mckayla blinked.

"What…what's all this?"

"Oh, just something your mother and I threw together." Her father came down from his ladder after hanging up another streamer.

The doorbell rang.

"There he is," Sara smiled and went to answer the door.

"Who's there?" Mckayla felt her jaw drop as Kaden walked in donned in his tux.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the prom?"

"Well, it wouldn't have been the same without you," Kaden smiled, "So if you can't go to prom, prom can come to you." He fixed one of his sleeves.

"Wait…was this your back up plan all along?" She felt her eyes began to sting with tears and she cursed being emotional as one of her fibro symptoms.

"Yep. I knew that there was a 70% chance of you not being able to make it."

"Ready to go, Sara?"

Mckayla turned around, and noticed for the first time that evening that her mother was wearing one of her "date dresses" that she reserved for when she went out with her dad.

"Just a couple more seconds, Michael." Sara pulled out her phone, "Pictures first."

"Mom…"

"I'm serious; you two over to the coffee table right now in front of those nice roses you got for her, Kaden."

Kaden rolled his eyes.

"Yes, ma'am."

All together, Sara got five pictures of them. 3 of them standing and two of them sitting on the couch.

"Now I'm ready to go." She grabbed her handbag

"Alright," her dad removed himself from leaning against the wall, "Let's leave the two of them in peace."

Kaden chuckled.

"Don't keep her out too late," Michael pointed at him with a teasing smile causing everyone to laugh.

"I'll have her back by 1; I promise." Kaden placed a hand over his heart.

"10, and that's final." Michael said as he and Sara left closing the door behind him.

"You have plans with the guys later, anyway, don't you?" Mckayla smiled.

"Nope."

"You did not cancel those plans on account of me, did you?"

"Don't worry about it."  
"Kaden…"

"Hey, I'd much rather hang out with you instead of seeing some drunk guy who believes he can fly jump off his car."

"You sure?"

"Um, yeah, I'm pretty sure."

She crossed her arms.

"Plus," Kaden continued, "I'm kind of ready to see what it is about Phantom of the Opera that has you and your mom so hooked."

Did he just say the magic words?

"Really?" She smiled.

"Pretty sure it's in the DVD player. Your dad said he'd stick it in there for us."

She was sold. She took him by the arm and led him to the couch where the watched the movie over take out.

"So what did you think?" Mckayla once the credits began to roll.

"Not bad," Kaden looked impressed, "But is it bad that I wanted her to end up with the Phantom instead of Raul?"

She laughed.

"Don't worry about it," she rubbed his shoulders, "that's the number one crisis that every true fan faces."

"Good." He looked at her with a smile.

"Want to dance?"

She cursed her heart for reacting the way it did to his smile combined with his question.

"With no music?"

"Problem solved. I put together a playlist." He pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket and turned on Spotify.

How could she say no?

Thomas Rhett's _Die a Happy Man_ was the first song to play which was just the pace for her and they did a makeshift waltz in the living room.

He rocked her back and forth to the slow beat as she took in his cologne and appearance. He had shot up in the last few months and was drawing a lot of female attention.

"You could've gone with a few other girls," she mentioned casually as Kaden gently twirled her, "Why me?"

" 'Cause I wanted to." He pulled her close as the next song began to play.

"Uh, huh."

"Kayla," He looked down at her, "This isn't out of pity."

"Isn't it?"

"No."

"Alright."

"Seriously. The only reason I was going was so that you could go. Whether it was at here or the school; I _hate_ formal get ups."

Mckayla laughed.

"Okay; _now_ I believe you."

"Good."

When she got tired of dancing, they played a few games and caught up on her favorite TV shows.

By the time her parents got home at 11:30, she was drifting off to sleep on Kaden's shoulder with her hand in a popcorn bowl balancing on his knee.

He said goodnight to her and started the long journey to his house next door.

It wasn't fair; it really wasn't.

Kaden was everything she wanted; he was everything she needed. And, yet, she could never have him. Why? His full name was Kaden Jay Burrows.

Kaden was her first cousin.

* * *

 **Dun, dun, dun, DUN! Bet you weren't expecting** _ **that**_ **plot twist, now were you? I know this sounds a little controversial, but I don't consider Cousincest as incest. People have been marrying their cousins for centuries, and the kids have turned out perfectly fine most of the time. Now, I don't agree with brothers/sisters, fathers/daughter, mothers/sons, uncles/nieces, aunts/nephews cause that's just gross, and that IS incest . BUT, cousins, I believe are completely fine, as long as the kids of the cousins don't marry their cousins, because at that point the gene pool needs to be mixed a bit more.**

 **So, please let me know, respectfully what you think! I'm fine to hear either side, just so long as it's respectful and not in a hateful or mean way. For those of you who like this story, and would like it to continue, please comment as well as follow, because, as much as it's nice to see that you want to follow my story, it's really comments that fuel my desire to continue.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, everyone! I'm back with a new chapter!**

 **Guest: Thank-you so much! It's nice to hear someone with personal experience say that I've captured what it's like to live with Fibro full blown. I believe I'm in the early stages of it (I have some of the brain fog, memory loss, pain, etc), but I haven't hit it to the level of Mckayla quite yet.**

 **Crazynurse: Thanks for accepting the pairing! But Michael, Sara and Lincoln don't know about her feelings for Kaden yet; just give it time…**

 **And thank-you, tazsgirl6969 for favoriting and following this story! It's a nice coincidence that you've started to follow this story just as I got the next installment up! Enjoy!**

 **It's amazing what three seconds of research will accomplish; I haven't seen the 5th season of Prison Break, but thanks to Wikipedia, I discovered that everyone is settled in the USA, so since I didn't really mention outright in my last chapter a location (other than introductory statement), they're in the USA.**

 **On a side note, I still haven't decided who to put Lincoln with yet, being that no one's cast their votes yet, so I'll give it one more chapter before I decide. A resurrected Veronica Donovan, Sofia or Sheba? Who do you think I should go with?**

* * *

"It's so beautiful out, today!" Mckayla took in a deep breath as she and Kaden walked downtown. She spun around taking in the mild breeze. Normally she would care about how much attention she brought to herself, but today she didn't cared who stared. It was one of the few days she was actually feeling well enough to go out.

"You don't think you're overdoing it?" Kaden asked looking concerned coming up beside her.

"Oh, I know I am, but I don't care. I'm feeling good today; don't ruin it for me, Kade." She took his arm and leaned it to it as they crossed the street.

"Besides," she added, "I want to spend as much time with you as possible before you head off to college in the fall and abandon me."

"Ouch." Kaden chuckled, "That's a little harsh."

"I know." She wrinkled her nose up at him in mischief.

"So, what's it going to be, Miss Guilt Trip?" Kaden looked down at her with a smile.

"The flea market; I miss it the most." She breathed wistfully.

"Alright," Kaden commented, "The flea market it is."

Before she got sick, Mckayla always liked to spend the weekends with Clarissa shopping at the flea market. She and Kaden didn't really do it that often because it wasn't his kind of thing. He could handle it to a degree, but he didn't care for the noise and how crowded it was. He would much prefer playing basketball with his buddies or tuning a car with his dad in the shop (and getting paid for it). It was funny because Kaden was a relatively social guy; he just didn't like the flea market.

"When's Mike coming home again?" Kaden asked right outside the entrance of the market.

"Tomorrow. His flight got delayed." She smiled at the thought of seeing her brother again. There was an eight year difference between the two of them, but he had never seemed to notice the age gap. Even in high school, he never saw the problem in including her in his activities even though some of his buddies protested that his "kid sister" was hanging around. Mike never paid attention to them however; it just rolled right off his back. He even interacted with Clarissa whenever she was over. After all, the Sucres were old friends and Mike was friends with Clarissa's older brother who was a couple years ahead of Mike in age, but no less friends. He would be as happy as anybody when Mike was back from his trip. He didn't know it, but her parents were planning a whole welcome party, and everybody who had grown up with Mike was going to be there. She just hoped she felt well enough to leave her bed the next day.

Mike had been gone for a year on some king of top secret mission that he couldn't share. With his brains and natural athletics, it figured he ended up a spy. No one, but she, her parents, and Kaden and his family knew what he was. To everyone else, he designed medication. If it wasn't for the fact that the entire family, including Kaden's had been on vacation _where Mike just happened to be_ on a mission two years prior, he probably would never had told them either. But they knew, and thankfully, everyone was trustworthy.

"Of course your son's a spy." Her mother had said to her father on the way home in the car.

Her father had snickered in response.

"No one encouraged him, Sara."

"No one had to; it's in the Scofield/Burrows blood to live dangerously."

She wasn't wrong.

"So, which stand first?" Kaden shouted above the noise of the market, pulling her out of her troubled thoughts.

Mckayla looked around the bustling market until one stand in particular caught her eye.

"This one," She smiled, walking over to the one with various necklaces hanging off their little jewelry stands.

"Figures." She heard the smile in his voice as she felt him move right behind her.

Mckayla picked up a turquoise teardrop pendant hanging from a dark silver chain.

"Ah," the jeweler said with a smile, "that brings out your eyes quite nicely, Ms.; a lovely shade of mint."

"I've always liked turquoise." Mckayla smiled and clipped it on looking at the mirror standing next to the necklaces and bracelets.

"What do you think, Kaden?" She turned to look at him, "Do you think it's worth $20?"

Kaden raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose, if you like it that much."

"She was beautiful before," the sales person spoke up, "don't you think your girlfriend looks even more so with that stone around her neck?"

Kaden's eyebrows shot up and Mckayla felt herself blush at the jeweler's assumption.

"She's not my girlfriend." Kaden stated bluntly.

Mckayla nodded and looked sympathetically in the salesman's direction.

"Oh," he looked apologetically, "My mistake. I saw the way she was hanging on your arm and the gesture made it look very much like you were a couple."

"It's okay," Mckayla smiled, "you're not the first, so don't worry about it."

It was true. Since they looked nothing alike, people assumed all the time that they were a couple. Mckayla cursed herself all the time for wanting it to be so, but she didn't choose to fall for her own cousin; it just happened. It didn't help that they hung out when she was feeling good, he was always there for her when she wasn't, and that he was so dang attractive…

"Earth to Mckayla." Kaden snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. "You wanting to buy it?"

Her vision came into focus on Kaden's playful smile and she swallowed hard.

"Yeah; I think I'll get it." She looked back into the mirror, "It's been a while since I've bought a nice necklace."

"Would you like the matching necklace and earrings?" The jeweler asked, "The whole set is on sale for $40."

"Hmm." Mckayla regarded the set thoughtfully, "Sure."

Kaden whistled behind her.

"You wanna leave now before you buy the entire flea market?"

Mckayla shot a glare at him to see him smirking playfully. She rolled her eyes then turned to look at the merchant, "It's been a while since I've been shopping."

"Then you deserve to treat yourself." He smiled and bagged her items after she handed him the money.

"Thank-you." She took Kaden's arm as they moved on.

"Where to next?"

"Are you sure there isn't any stand you want to visit?" She looked up at him.

"Well, those mangos look tempting, but I'll hold off till we're about to leave; wouldn't want to have sticky fingers the entire time we're here."

"True." A flash of blue caught her eye causing her head to turn to see a rack of dresses under a shaded stand next to a dressing hut.

"Uh, oh," Kaden commented, "I think I have a sneaking suspicion to where we're headed to next."

Mckayla felt herself smile as she tugged him to the dress stand.

"Look at this blue dress." She picked it off the rack and looked it up and down, "it's my favorite color." She looked into the stand-up mirror and held it up to herself. "It's my size and it matches one of my necklaces at home."

"Hm."

Mckayla turned around to see him staring at her thoughtfully, which was unusual because he had never taken an interest in her clothes before.

"You like it?"

"Well, I need to try it on first."

"Alright; you do that."

"Okay." Mckayla pulled back the blanket that served as the dress hut's door and pinned it to the inside wall. She pulled off her sun dress and hung it on the pin then slid the sleeveless dress over her head avoiding the pain that was bothering her arms and shoulders.

Once she got it situated she found that it fitted her perfectly; it was like the dress had been tailored for her. She couldn't wait to show her mother this one. How much was it, though?

Mckayla picked found the tag on the thread hanging from the side of the dress and looked at. She felt her heart sink at the price $35. She shouldn't have spent it on the necklace set. She usually wasn't so frivolous with her money.

"How'd you like it?" Kaden asked once she got out back in her sundress.

"I love it."

"Then why are you hanging it back on the rack?"

Mckayla felt slightly perplexed at Kaden's sudden interest in the dress.

"Because it's $35; should have held off on the necklace." She allowed her fingers to linger on the light blue fabric before looking at the rest of the dresses.

"Hmm." Kaden looked at the dress. "I'll get it for you."

Mckayla looked up from a yellow dress. "What?"

"You heard me."

"You sure?"

Kaden shrugged.

"Yeah."

"What's the occasion?"

Kaden stuttered.

"Well…just…think of it as my apology gift to you since I'll be abandoning you in the fall."

Mckayla raised an eyebrow.

"You sure?"

"You know me; would I be offering if I wasn't?"

She looked at the dress.

"I _do_ like it a lot." She looked back at him trying not to look too excited, "Alright."

The moment the dress was paid for, Mckayla grabbed it off the table and changed into it in the dressing hut.

"Couldn't wait until you got home, huh?" Kaden laughed as she came out.

"Nope." She twirled in front of him, knowing she would regret how she would feel afterward.

"It does look really nice on you."

Mckayla felt herself blush and was glad that she was naturally tanned.

"Mckayla Scofield?"

The familiar voice came from behind her and she saw Kaden stiffen in front of her as his eyes formed into a glare for whoever was behind her.

Why did she know that voice?

Mckayla turned around and felt her jaw drop as she saw Jake Gonzales remove his sunglasses.

"Jake."

"Wow," he smiled, "You look good; and I mean," he gestured to her, " _Really_ good."

Three years. It had been three years since he had been sent to a boarding school in California right after he broke her heart. She had nearly forgotten about him, and had almost gotten to the point where she could think about what he had done to her without feeling a pang of self-hatred and resentment…until now as he stood in front of her as if nothing ever happened.

"What are you doing here?"

"I graduated." Jake placed his sunglasses on top of his head. She noticed how he his eyes darted nervously from her to Kaden, and Mckayla couldn't help but feel some sort of satisfaction that he had some PTKD (Post Traumatic Kaden Disorder) from three years prior.

"So, you're not going to college?"

"Oh, I'm going to college," she had forgotten how cocky his smile could get when he was arrogant, "In fact, I'm going to Stanford come fall; I'm just here in my home town until then."

She felt Kaden move right behind her.

"So…" Jake looked briefly behind her then turned back to Mckayla, "What's up with you, Kayla? Cured yet?"

She swallowed hard.

"No."

"Oh, so you didn't finish school."

She felt her eyes flash. Why did she even date this guy?

"I finished school. Just online."

"What do you want, Jake?" Kaden spoke up for the first time.

Jake looked evenly at Kaden.

"I just want to talk to your cousin, that's all; got a problem with that, _ese_?"

"Kaden." Mckayla looked up at him and saw his jaw tighten.

She looked back to Jake not knowing what to say to him.

"What are you doing to school for?"

"General studies."

"Ah; I'm probably going to do an online degree on Mathematics."

Jake looked doubtful.

"How are you exactly going to do that?" He scoffed.

Kaden growled.

"Online. At my own pace."

Jake raised an eyebrow.

"Good luck." He didn't sound like he meant it.

"Well, see you around, Jake." Mckayla turned away more annoyed at him than she had ever been in the entire time she had been dating him.

"See you, Kayla."

Kaden followed her as they walked in the opposite direction.

"You still have a good body!"

He just had to humiliate her on top of condescending her.

If looks could kill, Jake would have been dead the instant Kaden had turned his eyes in his direction.

"Let's go, Kaden." Mckayla grabbed his arms before he could do something drastic.

"The nerve of that guy," Kaden growled as they stopped at the mango stand.

"What did I ever see in him?" Mckayla would like to think that she wasn't the least bit hurt at her encounter with her ex; that she had risen above her past and that his comments now meant nothing to her. But the moment that she had come face to face with him again, every jab, every word she had said to her before he had called off their relationship, had come back vividly as if it had happened yesterday.

"He was nicer when you first met him; there was a reason he was my best friend until he dumped you."

"I know but still. Looking back, I realized just how fake he was even back then."

Kaden tilted his head in agreement as he paid for two mangoes, "True." He looked back at her concerned.

"You okay?"

He always seemed to see straight through her.

She looked away.

"I will be."

Kaden handed her one of the mangoes as they left the flea market.

"He never deserved you, you know."

Mckayla shrugged.

"Seriously, Kayla. Remember all those flowers that I had to deliver from all those guys from school? You could have had any guy you wanted."

Mckayla laughed at the memory of Kaden walking in her room with two different bouquets from two different guys.

" _This one's from Bobby, and this one's from Brandon," He had rolled his eyes before giving them to her._

"None of them ever visited me, though; they were all just like Jake in the end."

"True."

"You're the only who hasn't left me," she looped arms with him and leaned into his bicep. She looked up at him and saw the warm glow in his eyes that he seemed to only show when he was around her.

The warm glow was suddenly replaced with a troubled look.

Mckayla felt her eyebrows draw together.

"Something wrong, Kade?"

"I, uh…" he cleared his throat. "Nothing. You want to head home now?"

As much as she hated to admit it, the encounter with Jake had ruined her outing, plus, Kaden looked like he was done as well; which was unusual for him.

"Um, sure."

They didn't say much on the walk home and he still looked uncertain as he left for his door while she headed for her own at her house.

"See you , tomorrow?" Mckayla felt perplexed.

"Yeah…see ya." He gave her a brief smile before opening up his screen door and letting it bang shut behind him.

Mckayla couldn't help but feel concerned as she opened up her front door.

What was wrong with him?


End file.
